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Sheriffs say border security should be priority

HAMILTON, Ohio -- "Secure the border first." That's the mantra of Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones, known for his strong stance against illegal immigration. On Wednesday, Jones and five other sheriffs – three

Sheriffs say border security should be priority

Six sheriffs -- five from Ohio and one from North Carolina -- met with an aide to House Speaker John Boehner to voice their opposition to the Senate immigration reform proposal.

Rockingham County, N.C., Sheriff Sam S. Page, left, and Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Rick Jones were among the sheriffs who met Wednesday with a representative of House Speaker John Boehner to discuss immigration.(Photo: Janice Morse, The Cincinnati Enquirer)

That's the mantra of Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones, known for his strong stance against illegal immigration.

On Wednesday, Jones and five other sheriffs – three from House Majority Leader John Boehner's home district – joined in a chorus of that mantra, sending what Jones called "a helluva strong message."

The six sheriffs jokingly agreed they might be dubbed, "the gang of six," a play on words referring to the "Gang of Eight" lawmakers who put together the comprehensive immigration-reform bill that the sheriffs oppose. The Senate passed that proposal, which the sheriffs say tries to do too much at once, without giving border-security the top priority it deserves.

The six sheriffs also say many more sheriffs across the nation agree with their opinion on the proposal.

"It's a bad piece of legislation," said Sam S. Page, sheriff of Rockingham County, N.C. He serves as co-vice-chairman of the National Sheriffs' Association's immigration committee. That group, in a position paper, says it recommends enforcing current immigration laws, tightening security at the northern and southern U.S. borders and increasing funding for local police to combat crimes that illegal aliens commit.

Page, Jones and their four cohorts spent about an hour in a closed-door meeting Wednesday with Ryan Day, district director for Boehner. They say Day assured them that Boehner agrees: Border security is paramount, along with "internal enforcement" of existing laws.

Boehner, in a letter to Jones, said he has spoken to many constituents in his home district and concluded: "The people of our region, like millions of other Americans nationwide, prefer that our nation's broken immigration system be fixed through a step-by-step, common-sense approach that starts with securing our borders and enforcing our laws."

Page joined Jones and four Ohio sheriffs – Toby Spence of Darke County, Jeff Gray of Mercer County, Mike Simpson of Preble County and Phil Plummer of Montgomery County – in presenting a united front on the issue to Boehner's aide.

Jones said Day told the group that "the speaker basically agrees with us," and would oppose the massive, Senate-backed immigration proposal.

Although immigration reform has been stalled in Congress for years, Jones thinks it's finally coming to a head and some real action is imminent.